The obvious strength is the cheap price.

The sound is not that clear, or tight.

The main points I will stress here will be in comparison to the bass output of my new set of main speakers driven by my Yamaha RXV-795a reciever @ 85 watts rms in both stereo and Dolby Digital and DTS.(DCM KX12 Series Two capable of bass output frequency as low as 25hz-- I payed about 300 dollars at Circuit City for the pair) Before I bought my DCMs I thought that the KLH AWS-120B sounded alright. I previously had a very cheap pair of Jensen 15 inch 3-way mains and compared to them this sub seemed to pack a good punch for a cheap price. I'll admit that this sub/box/amp combo can sound decent at times when listening to music, but the volume is best kept no greater than halfway on the volume knob, and the crossover no greater than 100hz(halfway) as well. The louder you have this sub the more likely you will hear the distortion of its amp kick in. I had to bleed the bass from the main channel pre-outs on my reciever because the AWS-120B could not handle the pure subwoofer pre-out, especially when I dedicated all the bass signal to it. I swear the sub was screaming for mercy at about 60% volume @ 35% volume on my reciever. I believe I had the crossover at 80hz. I tried dedicating the low frequency effects channel of Dolby Digital and DTS solely to this sub and the results were laughable compared to my mains. The louder I turn up this sub and the more signal I feed it with the more this sub seems to be corrupting the incredibly tight and thunderous bass output of my DCMs. That is most prevalent during heavy bass sequences in movies in Dolby Digital, or DTS. Just yesterday I was testing the bass output during chapter 4 of the movie "True Lies". During the massive explosion, without the sub on, the bass is incredibly ferocious and tight from my DCMs.(Even though the overall power of the bass is limited by the mere 85 watts providing it. God bless the 99db SPL of the KX12 Series Two) You feel the boom. When I turn on the KLH AWS-120B and listen to the explosion again combined with the output of the DCMs I notice a slight gurgling sound from the 120B coming from the woofer, and an overall lack of tightness and accuracy coming from the sub. There is a weird sound coming from the woofer itself that is not at all present in my DCMs during intense movie bass sequences.(I added thick home insulation inside and that can't make up for the cheap quality of the amplifier and woofer) The distortion is entirely audible there. It is disappointing, but entirely expected for the cheap price. I recommend that for audio enthusiasts who want true quality bass for a bargain they should hunt down a pair of DCM KX12 Series Two floorstanding speakers. (They are being phased out for the new product line by DCM so I don't know how easy they might be to find) There will be more bass than any number of KLH AWS-120Bs can provide in tandem with virtually any reciever's onboard amp that can provide somewhere in the vicinity of 100 watts rms a channel. Sensitivity and efficiency are there strenghth.

This is my third review of the KLH AWS-120B and I stand by what I previously have said about this sub. It is cheap, and what you get is cheap quality sound. I think in purchasing my DCM KX12 Series Two 12 inch mains I have first-hand proof of just how cheap that is. I'm leaning toward giving up on powered subs in general, and simply amplifying my main speakers with separate component dedicated amps. I've read reviews here about the Audiosource Amp 2.(A 4.92 customer rating as of this review) For about 200 bucks it seems to be the poor man's ticket to audiophile type sound. Of course, I'll need two to power both mains, but for 400 bucks you get 200 watts rms for each main channel with distortion less than .04%.(That specification is the same as many Yamaha reciever amp distortion levels) I would not recommend for anybody with floorstanding speakers capable of bass frequencies less then 30hz to lay down 100 bucks plus tax for this sub. Pay $400 dollars and buy separate amps that give you numerous options about how you might want to use them as far as mains, center, surrounds, and subs.(You need to have pre-outs for each of those to use a separate amp for any of those as far as a reciever is concerned) Why pay $100 dollars for muddled bass when you could pay $400 and get mega-bass from your mains while also amplifying midrange and highs as well? It seems pretty obvious what the choice should be for owners of bass efficient floorstanding speakers and that is not the KLH AWS-120B.

Similar Products Used:

Various car subs and amplifier combinations.
DCM KX12 Series Two Floorstanding speaker(As far as bass kicking ability is concerned, or not so similar as it really is)

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I think you guys are reviewing two different subs!

Some of you are reviewing the 110 and some are reviewing the 120. These are two different models that had different amps in them. Make sure you specify which one you are reviewing. I did not see a place to review the AWS120 so I think people are using this AWS110 section to review the 120.

PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH ONE FROM NOW ON.

Similar Products Used:

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price, price, and uh, price

The dumb asses on this page that would trash anything they don't understand.

I have posted before but wanted to follow up- I now have 6 of these subs and NOT ONE HAS FAILED. You sorry peope that take them out of the box and turn the x-over to 150 and crank the sub should be shot for stupidity. Get some common sense. They should all be on HT-reated power surge protectors too.

I pity you all who abused your sub. Those who had a defective product that DID NOT abuse your sub, this is not aimed at you.

After proper break-in I added the modification to two of the subs as posted by the nice guy below. This mod included:

Two 12" SQ. real stone bathroom tiles ($2 each),
A piece of rubber matting (shower underlay) ($2),
Two packs of 3/8" I/D 'Frost King' polyethalene foam pipe insulation.

The pink insulation or regular speaker fill would do just fine. I like the way they sound now, lower and tighter and will be adding tiles and insluation to all of the other subs when I get time.

Now that the driver is better, and the new amp (not B! the NEW amp) has lower sensitivity on the low-level inputs, they have a much better sub. Four of mine are the older B version and two are the newest style. The newer ones are a tad bit quieter at the same volume level. I cannot believe that I have 6 subs in my home theater and they are all set around 3 and x-over at 55, they are barely working hard at all. I talked to KLH and they said that they will fix any problem with the sub for a year no questions asked. But 30+ DVDs later and not one problem yet.

For those of you who floor your car in the winter when you first crank it, you deserve to have a hard time with keeping things working. You are the same people who have never changed the filter in your home A/C and the same people who leave the volume wide open on your stereo when you power it on. YOU cause you own headaches.

If you can complain about a great sounding sub for $70, YOU are the problem not the sub.

Similar Products Used:

jbl, yamaha

PRICE, PRICE, AND THE PRICE. Awsome sub for first HT, or just an add on sub to your existing setup. Jesus, for the price, just buy one and look at the damn thing.

port rattles a tiny bit if you dont put insolation in the somewhat hollow box

¤¤¤¤ IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY THIS SUB OR IF YOU THINK THIS SUB SUCKS, READ THIS ¤¤¤¤


Sup, I would first like to point out all the stupid people who have written about the KLH sub. Yes we all know it is a cheap sub, but just because the amp goes out doesnt mean that it is all the sub's fault. Some of you, im sure, unpackaged the sub, hooked it up, and pushed the damn thing to its limits, and then you wonder why the amp goes bad after 3 days or whatever. A speakers is just like any other peice of machinary, for example, you don't go buy a brand spankin' new car, get it out on the road, and put the gas petal all the way to the floor and hold it there, and then wonder why the engine smokes, or the trans is sliping. You have to break it in, like a pair of new shoes.

Not me, everything I own is treated the best I can treat it, I never abuse my stuff, especialy my home theater *Chuckles*. Ok, I lyed there, I do crank the volume every once in a while, but I dont push it to the extremes. Well anyways, you probably get the point if you have half a brain.

When I first read all the reviews, something did not quite click inside me. I am pretty damn sure, even the most crappiest speaker maker would not put something out on the market that would only last 3 days or 3 months, they would lose a conserderible amount of buisness that way. I am also pretty sure they would test the hell out of the product before putting it out on the shelves. So thats why it didnt quite click, all these amps going bad so fast, so now instead of pointing fingers at the company, the company can point fingers at you.

I bought my sub a couple weeks ago, and upon blasting it, I used my bass cd and turned the sub on and put the volume really low, to where you can barely even hear anything, after an hour or so, I would turn it up a little more, untill it got the the point where my mom was yelling at me to turn it down because the china in here cabinets were ready to fall out. After spending about 8 hours, yes 8 hours, on breaking in the sub, I noticed a different tone coming from it, a tone and beat the was much like the 1,000 dollar subs I was only dreaming about. But the bass coming from it wasnt "there" yet. I decided to open it up, like all the other smart people on the page that acually repect there purchase. I found some peice of insolation from out attic, yes the pink crap that gets in your eyes, your skin, and your nose, and makes yuo itch until there is no skin left. I gently placed a small amount in the box, formed it to the edges, and close the box back up. Turned the sub on and used my bass cd. I did notice some difference, I didnt have to turn it up so loud to get the effects I did before, and there was also NO MORE rattling in the port. So, since I had a lot of the pink panther insolation crap left, I filled the box more, neatly organizing it so it formed around the port, and would make a support for the back of the driver. Once again I closed the box back up, and resumed my bass cd. Holy jesus, what the itchy stuff can do for you!!!! Like a couple other reviews on here, it sounded much better then those expensive subs, yet only costed me about 140 bucks, not bad for a 4 year warrenty and the sub. So now, I turn my lovely sub on, place the matrix in my dvd, and I get blown away. The bass coming from it is sssooo rich, I could cry, well not really, but once again, you get the point.

For the money I paid, it was more then worth it, and anyone who has taken this sub back has made the biggest mistake ever. Where else are you gonna find a sub that will preform evenly, or better then those subs that you can only play with at the stores. If you want a sub, and short on the $$$$$ this is the sub for you. Just treat it like a baby, till it grows up, then you can beat the ^$%# out of it, and enjoy a sub that saved you mucho dollars.

If my sub dies on me, I really dont care, because I will take it to best buy, and they will replace it for free. But...... I really doubt something will happen to it because I do not abuse it and I have broken it in, so I have lots of faith in my lil' friend over in the corner =)

Similar Products Used:

sony, but it blew on me =(

Here is an affortable sub ($329 MSRP, but saw some for as low as $230 new). This has a 10" woofer (30 oz magnet) with a 120w/RMS class AB built in amp, auto-on/off, hi/low inputs and outputs, phase switch, freq response down to a solid 25hz w/ a rotary crossover selection to 125hz, Rotary volume dial. Dual tuned ports.
This runs quite well using my Denon AVR-3200 (dolby digital). However, if you max out the volume on the sub, and moderately run up the volume on the receiver, you can hear some popping (due to over excursion) during 6 channel test tone cycle at 0 db...Perhaps the built in amp is little over powering for the 10"...or maybe just me. Anyhow, place the volume on the sub to mid way, and you can turn it up all you want on the receiver. The rumbling will shake the neighbors home as well...or was that an earthquake.
This sub is very sturdy and sounds clean. I have no regrets.

The only good thing about this sub is the price, the subwoofer and the port need to be improved.

This sub sounds great on while playing DVDs with my Aiwa AV70 reciever. I couldn't pass it up going for $199 at Bestbuy. The power is good however I have heard popping as well after playing the system at high volumes after a while even when the volume is in the center. Still its great for the prkice.

$99.99, 40-180Hz adjustment (30-180 response), can really reach and hold the sustained lows

can flutter at high levels

Model number is KSUB-10 I think it's pretty similar with 120w and a 10. I've been taking it easy on the thing since I heard the flutter when I first used it just to make sure it gets broken-in properly, but even using it like that (~60 Xover about half power)it performs like a champ. Auto on/off works seamlessly with no poping or anything and the heat sink just barely gets warm when used for extended periods. So far i'm happy with it. Gave it four for Overall because obviously there's much better.

Similar Products Used:

Car audio subs of mid-high quality

Price. Sounds Great. Ajustability. Lots of Bass!

It broke after 2 1/2 months!! The stupid thing fried on me!

I posted a review of this Sub afew weeks after I got it and I was very happy. I am not happy anymore. The stupid sub broke. I was watching a DVD and all of a sudden I hear a single pop. Then, no more subwoofer. I turned it off, and then back on again. It worked.......for 15 seconds. After that first "pop" the thing would only work for about 10 or 15 seconds and then stop working. I am going to try and exchange it for another one and see how long that one lasts me. When it was working I was VERY pleased with it's performance, in fact I was so pleased I am willing to exchange it for another and risk getting stuck with it. I have read all the horror stories on this site and I know I am probably in for another piece of junk. If it would just stay alive, for the price it would be the best sub ever. Well, I am going to try and return it and get my hands on another. I will just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!!

P.S. I loved it while it lasted and I hope the exchange will leave me with a working version. If you have had a similar experience about the pop and then no sound, then having it work for about 15 seconds after you turn it on each time, e-mail me @ sandmangt85dc@home.com

Similar Products Used:

NONE

ummm.... NONE

ummm.... EVERYTHING

I bought this sh%t and it burnt out on me after using it a week. I had this set at about 1/2 of its full volume and it was not abused at all!

KLH is crap!

They use us as test subjects for their crappy amps! Stay away from anything made by these morons!

Similar Products Used:

Sony